Concrete-road machine



June 5, 1923. I 1,457,299

E. G. CARR CONCRETE ROAD MACHINE Filed Dec. 29. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 5, 1923.

E. G. CARR CONCRETE ROAD MACHINE Filed Dec. 29, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 5, 1923.

E. G. CARR CONCRETE ROAD MACHINE Filed Dec. 29, 1921' 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 am 5 w A MWN P o 0%? o \M om Patented June 5, 1923.

EDWARD G. CARR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CONCRETE-ROAD MACHINE.

Application filed December 29, 1921. Serial No. 525,570.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD G.'QARR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Concrete-Road Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part thereof.

This invention relates to concreteroad machines and the object of the invention is to improve the construction and operation of concrete road machines in the manner to be hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings which accompany this specification and form 'a part hereof, which drawings illustrate an embodiment of this invention, and on which drawings the same reference characters are used to designate the same parts wherever they may appear in each of the several views, Fig. 1 is a plan View of a concrete road machine, parts being omitted and parts being broken away; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the rear end of the machine; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the front end of the machine, parts being omitted and parts being broken away; Fig. 4 is an elevation of the right-hand side of the machine; Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 55 on Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 66 on Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 7 is a vertical section on the line 7-7 on Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fi 8 is a vertical section on the line 8-8 on ig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 9 is a vertical section on the line 9-9 on Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; and Fig. 10 is a vertical section on the line 10-10 on Fig.

1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates a frame which may be constructed in any suitable or preferred manner, the frame illustrated by the drawings being of a general rectangular shape, in plan view, suitably braced and trussed and provided with members or parts for supporting a motor and other mechanism. All

parts of the framewhich are not necessary to a full and accurate description of this invention have been omitted from the drawings for the sake of simplicity of illustration and description of the invention. The frame 1 is provided with a roller 2, a spreading templet 3, and a float or finisher 4, and one or more of these parts is'preferably disposed obliquely with respect to the line of movement or travel of the machine. The drawings illustrate the spreading templet 3 and the float 4 as disposed at substantially right angles with respect to the line of movement of the machine, while the roller 2 is disposed obliquely with respect to the line of movement of the machine. In other words, the roller 2 is illustrated as arranged in nonparallel relation with respect to the spreading templet 3 and the float or finisher 4. The frame 1 is supported by Wheels 5 upon the tracks or forms 6 and the machine is moved forward or back by the motor 7 and the mechanism to be described. The motor 7 may be of any suitable or preferred construction and the motor illustrated by the drawings is an ordinary gasoline or internal combustion motor or engine with a sprocket wheel 8 rigidly secured to its shaft 9. A countershaft 10 is journaled in hearings on the frame 1 and has the sprocket wheel 11, the gear 12, and the sprocket wheel 13 rigidly secured thereto. A main shaft 14 is journaled in bearings on the frame 1 and has the gear 15 and the sprocket; wheel 16 loose thereon but restrained from longitudinal movements with respect thereto. The gears 12 and 15 are in mesh and the sprocket wheels 8 and 11 are connected by the straight sprocket chain 17 and the sprocket wheels 13 and 16 are connected by the straight sprocket chain 18. As the motor 7, of the type illustrated, always rotates its shaft 9 in one direction, it will be readily seen that the main shaft 14 will be rotated in one direction by the gears 12 and 15 and in the opposite direction by the sprocket wheels ber 21 with the clutch member 19, or the clutch member 22 with the clutch member 20, or for disengaging the clutch members. The clutch members 19 and 21 and 20 and 22 are illustrated by the drawings as of the friction-cone type and the longitudmal movement of the connected clutch members 21 and 22 is suflicient to permit the clutch members 21 and 22 to be disengaged from both the clutch members 19 and 20, when the clutch-yoke 23, which engages the connecting member 25, is moved to the neutral or stop position. The main shaft 14 is provided with universal joints 26 and has at its ends worms which mesh with worm-wheels rigidly secured to longitudinal shafts 27, one of which is located at each side of the machine. These longitudinal shafts 27 are pro vided with worms 28 which mesh with worm-wheels 29 rigidly secured to the spindles 30 for the wheels 5. The wheels 5 are rigidly secured to the spindles 30 so as to be r -tated thereby and it will be readily seen that a rotation of the main shaft 14 will rotate the wheels 5 in a direction to propel the machine forward, while a reverse rotation of the main shaft 14 will reverse the .direction of rotation of the wheels 5 to propel the machine backward. The spindles 30 and the shafts 27 are journaled in boxes 31 which are fastened to the frame 1 of the machine. The boxes 31 can conveniently be made in two parts, one of which 32 is recessed and permanently secured to the frame of the machine while the other part 33 serves as a cover so that the recess can be filled with grease or other suitable lubricant. The spindles 30 may be provided with fixed collars 34 to take behind the covers 33 and the wheels 5 may be secured to the spindles 30 by keys, or other suitable means, so that the wheels 5 may be readily removed for removing the covers 33 for supplying lubricant or for dismantling the machine.

The spreading templet 3 is illustrated by the drawings as a plank 34 provided at its front, lower edge with metal plates 35 which extend forwardly and downwardly and which, when viewed in elevation, are curved to correspond with the general crown to be given to the road surface. The plank 34 may itself have an upwardly curved lower edge and the plates 35 may be adjustably secured to the plank 34. The drawings, see Fig. 7, illustrate the plates 35 as provided with vertical slots 36 and secured to the plank 34 by bolts 37 passin' through said slots and washers 38. T e spreading templet 3 is provided adjacent its ends with plows 39 to move concrete on and near the forms 6 awa therefrom towards the center of the ma These plows, as illustrated b the drawings, may be readily formed by nding ends of plates 35.

As concrete which can be most efiiciently worked and shaped by a roller, as distin-.

'guished from tamping, must be pretty mushy and not too stiff, it 18 not as necessary to reciprocate the spreading templet memes according to the practice in working stiffer concrete, so the spreading templet is simply placed close to the front of the frame 1 of the .machine so that the frame of the machine will take the thrust or reaction of the spreading templet directly without the necessity for intermediate thrust or backing members. So that the spreading templet can be elevated or lowered, it is mounted on pins 40 and 41 which are connected to the short arms of bell-crank levers 42 and 43 which are mounted on pedestals 44 and 45 secured to the frame of the machine. In the construction illustrated by the drawings, the pedestals 44 and 45 are formed with sectors 46 and 47 provided with notches for detents 48 and 49 adapted to be manipulated by lever-handles 50 and 51, which are of an ordinary bell-crank construction and are pivoted to the longer arms, or operating levers, of the bell-crank levers 42 and 43. The detents 48 and 49 are held in notches in the sectors 46 and 47 by springs, not shown, in an ordinary manner, and one detent may be retained released from its sector in any suitable manner as, for example, by a link 52, see Fig. 3 of the drawings, which may be slipped over a leverhandle and the top of the longer arm of a bell-crank lever 42 or 43. The bell-crank levers 42 and 43 are connected by a tie 53 which is pivoted to them both so that the operator can manipulate both of them simultaneously from either side of'the machine and elevate or lower both ends of the spreading templetsimultaneously. It will be readily understood that the operator will place the link 5 2 at the side of the machine opposite to that where he is located.

The roller 2, as illustrated by the drawings, is reduced in diameter towards its center so as to conform to the crown of a road and rests upon the concrete and is rotated b reason of its contact with the concrete. *Vhen the roller is placed obliquely across a road, as illustrated by the drawings, it will have a combinedrolling and slidingaction. It will be evident that if the roller were to be arranged longitudinally of the road and moved along the road, the roller would simply slide lengthwise without being rotated. On the other hand, if the roller were to be arranged directly across the road and moved along the road, the roller would simply roll along the road. By arranging the roller obliquely across the road excess material can be moved both longitudinally of the road and transversely of the road to reduce elevations and fill depressions so that the o erator can produce even surfaces or roll 0 water by manipulating the machine in the manner to be hereinafter described. With the roller reduced in diameter towards its center, the predetermined crown of the road can be established and maintained without danger of flatteningrfir e rolling out the crown of the road.

roller 2 is journaled on the short arms of bell-crank levers 54 and 55 which are pivoted on the frame of the machine and any suitable means may be employed to determine the pressure of the roller as, for example, a spring 56 secured to the frame of the machine and to the bell-crank lever 54. A shaft 57 extends across the machine parallel with the roller 2 and has operating handles 58 and 59 rigidly secured thereto adjacent fixed sectors 60 and 61. Notched links 62 and 63 are pivotally secured to the bell-crank levers 54 and 55 and may be engaged with pins 64 and 65 inserted in the operating handles 58 and 59 so that one end of the roller 2 can be adjusted to a different elevation than the other end of the roller, the journal bearings of the roller in the bell-crank levers 54 and 55 being sufficiently loose for this purpose. This construction provides simple means for simultaneously lifting or lowering both ends of the roller 2 by manipulating either the operating handle 58 or the operating handle 59, while permitting of relative adjustment in height as between the two ends of the roller. The fixed sectors 60 and 6f are provided with holes 66 and 67 into which a pin 68 can be inserted on the roller side of either the operating handle 58 or the operating handle 59, according to the side of the machine where the operator is located. The hole in which the pin 68 is placed determines the downward limit of movement of the roller 2, but the roller can rise to ride over an obstruction because the operating lever can move backward away from the pin and the pin will again determine the position of the roller after the obstruction has been passed.

The float or finisher 4 is illustrated by the drawings as a flexible member, canvas 69 for example, secured to a U-shaped frame 70 which is slidably and rotatably retained in bearings 71 secured to the frame of the machine. One of the longitudinal shafts 27 has a pinion 72 rigidly secured thereto which meshes with a gear 73 fast on a shaft 74. The shaft 74 has a crank 75 fast thereon and a connecting-rod 76 connects the crank 75 with a slide 77 which is guided by clips 78 secured to the frame of the machine. The under side of the slide 77 is provided with an open notch 79 and the U-shaped frame 70 is provided with a pin 80 which is adapted to be received within the open notch 79. This construction constitutes a simple form of clutch for clutching the U- shaped frame '70 to the slide 77 and for unclutching it therefrom. The U-shaped frame 70 can be turned up against the frame of the machine and it will be readily seen from an inspection of Fig. 6 of the drawings that the pin 80, by such turning, will be disengaged from the open notch 79 so that the frame 70 will not be reciprocated. When the U-shaped frame 70 is again turned down, the pin 80 will engage the open notch 79 when, or as soon as, they register with each other, which will be when the slide 77 has been reciprocated to bring the open notch 79 into alignment with the pin 80.

The reference numeral 81 designates a plank or bridge upon which the operator may pass from one side of the machine to the other or reach the motor and parts of the mechanism of the machine.

The operation of the machine and its principle of operation will be mostly obvious from the foregoing description. The operation of the propelling mechanism, the spreading templet, and the float or finisher require no further description than that heretofore contained herein, but the action and operation and principle of operation of the roller 2 in the machine are not obvious without further explanation. The front or forward end of the machine is that where the spreading templet 3 is located. The spreading templet 3 is set to leave a slight excess of concrete above the desired, predetermined level. If the concrete is not too stiff, the roller 2 is set with both ends the same height and the pin 68 is inserted in the proper hole in a sector 60 or 61 to determine the downward movement of the roller 2.- The U-shaped frame 70 is turned down so that the canvas 69 will rest upon the concrete. The shifting-rod 24 is moved to the position that will cause the machine to be propelled forward. The roller 2 will then compact the concrete and the float or finisher 4 will even up any slight irregularities of surface, leaving a smooth finished surface. Any ridges or waves produced by or left by the spreading templet 3 will be directly across the road and the non-parallel roller will act to. obliterate any such ridges or waves instead of tending to make them more pronounced, as the tendency would be if the roller were parallel with the spreading templet. Any ridges or waves produced by or left by the roller will be obliterated by the non-parallel float or finisher 4, and the float or finisher 4 will smooth up and surface small elevations and pits which may result from the cement mortar sticking to the roller. The foregoing explanation of the operation of'the machine has assumed ideal conditions for operation and such a consistency of concrete that a single movement of the machine over it is sufficient to completely finish it. Unfortunately. the ideal conditions for the continuous operation of the machine as 'ust described very seldom, if ever, actuall y exist in practical operation of the machine on commercial work, and herein .lies the peculiar advantages of the machine, especially in working as stiff a concrete as can be handled by a roller. Amuming the concrete to be of a consistency which cannot be finished by a single passage of the machine as heretofore described, the spreading templet is set to the proper height as before but the float or finisher 4 is turned up away from the concrete and the following end of the roller 2 is elevated, and the leading end is depressed, if necessary. The machine is then run forward over the concrete. The spreading templet 3 will spread the concrete to approximately the required surface and contour and the end of the roller in contact with the concrete will compress the concrete and, on account of its obliquity,

will tend to and will actually sweep cement mortar forward and towards the center or crown of the road thus, besides the compressing action of the roller, the higher places are swept off to fill the depressions and to keep the crown of the road built up. The positions of the ends of the roller are now reversed, as to height, and the machine run backwards and the other side of the road will be worked in the same way. The machine can be run forward and back in this manner until the road is in-condition and a final forward run with the float or finisher down will complete the work. After the first forward run, the spreading templet can be raised out of the way, if desired. By alternately changing the heights of the ends of the roller and running forward and back, the operator can keep sweeping cement mortar towards depressions anywhere to obtain a perfect surface. The machine can also be used to roll water off chine, of aspreading templet, and a roller arranged at an oblique angle with respect thereto.

2. The combination in a concrete road ma chine, of a frame, a spreading templet supported by the frame, and a roller retained by the frame at an oblique angle with respect to the spreading templet.

3. The combination in a concrete road machine, of a frame, a roller carried thereby, and a float or finisher carried thereby .in non-parallel relation to the roller.

4. The combination in a concrete road machine, of a frame, a spreading templet, a roller, and a float or finisher, the roller being disposed in a non-parallel relation to the spreading templet and the float or finisher.

5. In a concrete road machine, the combination of a frame, means to propel the machine longitudinally of a road, and a roller arranged diagonally with respect to the direction of movement of the machine.

6. The combination in a concrete road machine, of a frame, a roller disposed diagonally with respect to said frame, and means for simultaneously lifting or lowering both ends of said roller.

7. In a concrete road machine, the combination with a frame, of a roller arranged diagonally with respect to said frame, and means for changing the elevation of an end of the roller.

8. The combination in a concrete road machine, of a frame, a roller disposed diagonally with respect to the frame, means for changing the elevations of the ends of the roller independently, and means for elevating or lowering the roller.

9. The combination in a concrete road machine, of a frame, a roller disposed diagonally with respect to said frame, means to force said-roller downwardly, means for adjusting the elevations of the ends of said roller, and means to limit the downward movement of said roller.

In witness whereof I hereto aflix my signature.

EDWARD G. CARR. 

